"Even Cher was turned away at the door of the famous Nell's on one of their opening nights," recounts Peter Sibilia in the opening pages of No Sleep - NYC nightlife Flyers 1988-1999. Unless you were lucky enough to actually experience the better days of NYC nightlife, it's the anecdotes (check the Jessica Rosenblum episode of The Combat Jack Show), random write-ups (Cipha Sounds' "The 75 Greatest Tunnel Bangers" for Complex), and/or books like Tim Lawrence's Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music culture, 1970-1979 that provide us with glimpses into the era. Stretch Armstrong and Evan Auerbach (UpNorthTrips, "walking encyclopedia of rap knowledge) add another crucial window into what things were like in the late '80s through the late '90s, and they do so by compiling a ridiculous amount of flyers, or rather, ARTWORK, from the personal archives of DJs, promoters, club kids, nightlife impresarios, and the designers themselves. You need this book in your life, period. Signed by Stretch, also check his project with Bobbito, Radio That Changed Lives… Recommended.

• signed by Stretch Armstrong
• hardcover edition
• 224 pages

reviewed by heloim 01/2017